Broken Wings
by princeofthewildthings
Summary: Sequel to 'When Love Turns Sideways'. It's been two years, and a lot has changed since we last saw Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne.


A masked figure stood high atop a building, staring down at the city below, and his own handiwork. Cars were aflame, their sleek exteriors charring from the flames. Broken glass littered the ground.

Damian, now sixteen, was a part of the criminal population here in Gotham City. He skulked around in the dark just like every other common criminal and hid out in a hovel he'd claimed for himself. The boy's figure had fleshed out more, taller and firmer, despite a poor diet. This life was completely different from what he'd grown accustomed to, as a Robin.

There was a boom, the light from another explosion at the bank below brightening his face. Tim Drake and Superboy appeared on the scene, hanging back for a moment as more debris settled on the street. They got to work controlling the fire and securing the area around it as petty thieves stood to the side. Tim looked over the small crowd, doubting any of them were the culprit. They were just here to try and get whatever they could that had some amount of value to it.

Tim Drake looked upward, noticing a humanoid figure on a roof across the street. That had to be him. He informed Nightwing of the person via his communicator before starting to help Conner again.

Damian backed away from the edge of the building, sucking in a breath. It was apparent Joker wasn't going to show up, not for some small scene like this. He'd have to come up with a better plan, and barter for more explosives. The gritty roofing crunched under his feet as he walked toward the door of the stairwell.

He needed to get moving. Nightwing wasn't on the ground. That spelled trouble for him. He knew Dick was more than capable of taking him on. He had been on the lower hand many times before while wrestling with his ex-lover; and that was only when the 175 pounds of muscle was playing around.

Suddenly, he was looking up at the stars, the air knocked out of his lungs. He looked up, quickly getting back to his feet as he gasped for the lost breath.

Of all people, this was the one he had to face. He wouldn't mind beating the shit out of anyone else. But this was his ex-lover, standing in front of him in that damned blue and black outfit.

He looked the same as he had two years ago, aside from the glare he was giving Damian. There was an anger there that Damian had not seen in his time as a Robin. The love Dick had, had for Damian had twisted and formed a crack in the man's heart. The look made Damian shiver.

"Are you going to come along easily?"

Damian laughed slightly and got back up on his feet. Nightwing's pose turned defensive.

"Not a chance, birdie." He spoke in a deep voice, hiding his natural one from Nightwing. The man didn't need to know what had become of him in these past two years.

The young criminal took a few steps back, trying to be cautious and get space between them. Dark hair fluttered in his eyes as Dick reached back, grabbing his escrima sticks. Those blue eyes that had looked down on him with a tender kindness years before were now narrowing at him.

"Alright, then."

Damian ducked away from a swing, everything slowing down as adrenaline coursed through his veins. His shoes weren't gripping the roofing very well, small pebbles sliding underfoot as Damian dodged the blows. The wind whipped around the sticks, making the swings audible, and all the more bone-chilling. Damian wouldn't have stood a chance if he hadn't been trained by the man he now faced.

A chill ran up Damian's spine as he reached the edge of the roof, having backed up too far. He had focused too much on avoiding the escrima sticks to realize he'd run out of ground. Damian's body was silhouetted by the city lights below, threatening to pull him down out of the shadows.

Gotham was good at that - swallowing up people before it was their time. Whether in a dark alley, or at a public event, the city had a way of gobbling up it's own inhabitants.

One booted foot lifted, kicking back against the edge of the rooftop. Damian crouched, centering his weight and preventing himself from taking a tumble off of the roof.

Nightwing took a swing, his look of determination turning to shock as his body lunged forward toward the lights. The city wanted blood tonight. Damian got up quickly, turning to face Dick's backside as Nightwing stumbled. Dick started to topple off of the rooftop, losing one of the escrima sticks as his eyes widened. The weapon plummeted down below, onto the pavement.

One hand and then another wrapped around Dick's wrist and forearm, quickly yanking him back onto the rooftop. Damian grunted, falling back on his rump. He looked down at Nightwing, who was practically laying in his lap, frowning deeply.

"_Idiot_."

The simple word struck a chord. Dick looked up at the masked figure, panting slightly. He didn't want to even think about the fear creeping into his brain. It was impossible.

Conner looked at Tim once he'd finished putting out the flames that had engulfed one last car.

"Should we go help Nightwing?"

Tim nodded and walked over to his boyfriend, one arm wrapping around the Super's neck. He'd gotten accustomed to flying by now, trusting Conner fully, despite the fact he disliked high places.

Robin pressed his face against the other's neck, holding his breath for a moment when they lifted off the ground. He lifted his head again once he heard voices, looking toward Dick and the villain.

Damian got up as Dick recovered from the near-death experience. He smiled coyly, waving as he retreated quickly.

"See ya around."

He threw a glance up in Drake's direction, his expression souring before he started to move his feet faster. His face met the roof this time as Dick jumped up and ran after Damian, tackling him. Horror tore through Damian, turning his blood cold as Nightwing rolled him over on his back, shoving his shoulders down. Damian grimaced, writhing beneath the heavier body and trying to shove him off.

"God damn it, _get off_! Nightwing, you-"

Damian's eyes widened, mouth hanging open uselessly as Nightwing tore the mask away. The older man's anger turned to shock, his blue eyes wide.

"Da...Damian...?"

He was up off of the boy in a heartbeat, gut twisting. He had feared so many possible reasons for the boy to have disappeared that night. But this...he had never wanted to even consider this as a possibility.

The world was pitching and heaving as his stomach twisted up into knots. Damian was standing on the other side of a definite line in this city, an enemy of everything he had once been. Dick had hoped and prayed to a god he didn't know, waiting months for Damian to return when the boy had first left. After a while, the man lost all hope of seeing him again.

Dick couldn't handle this. The person he loved with every fiber of himself was his enemy.

Tim stared at the two, just as shocked as Dick was.

"Should we let Dick handle this?"

Tim glanced at Conner, swallowing thickly. He nodded his head gently in agreement before taking one more glance at the two. Conner took him away in silence, back to the mansion.

"I told you to get off."

Damian muttered as he put his mask back on, irritated with the man for unmasking him. Guilt was twinging somewhere in his heart. This was one instance where Nightwing shouldn't have been impulsive.

Dick didn't answer Damian, simply slipping past him. The man didn't touch him, making sure even their shoulders didn't brush against one another.

Nightwing was gone just like that, leaving Damian alone on the rooftop as a chill wind pushed against him.


End file.
